The organization behind decades of public TV is dissolving—what comes next

Six decades after it was created by Congress, the nonprofit that brought America Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and Sesame Street will shut down for good. 

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting announced this week that it would officially shut down, ushering in an uncertain new era for the future of public broadcasting. The organization historically administers funds for NPR, PBS, and more than 1,000 local TV and radio stations nationwide.

The nonprofit entity was signed into law by the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 to manage federal funds for educational TV and radio shows, but it fell victim to a defunding campaign initiated by the The President administration and approved by a Republican-led Congress. 

“For more than half a century, CPB existed to ensure that all Americans—regardless of geography, income, or background—had access to trusted news, educational programming, and local storytelling,” CPB president and CEO Patricia Harrison said in a press release. Harrison said that the CPB decided to dissolve the organization as its final act instead of keeping the nonprofit on life support, which could make it susceptible to “additional attacks.”

The The President administration asked for the cuts to the public broadcasting organization, along with a sweeping pullback in foreign aid spending, earlier this year. Congress ultimately complied and, in July, voted to cut  $1.1 billion in federal funds, with no Democrats voting in support.

The public broadcasting fallout begins

The The President administration’s decision to defund the country’s largest public broadcasting organization will likely echo for years to come, but we’re already starting to see some of its effects.

In early December, a commission that oversees public educational TV in Arkansas voted to part ways with PBS, citing the shortfall of federal funds. That group framed the decision as a cost-saving measure, arguing that it relied on federal funding to pay annual dues of around $2.5 million to PBS in exchange for the broadcaster’s programming. The organization’s commissioners, who voted 6-2 in favor of parting with PBS, are appointed by the governor. 

The Arkansas PBS network, now rebranded as Arkansas TV, struck an optimistic tone in its announcement, pointing to a slate of new programming it plans to develop to replace PBS, including two shows for children, two food series, and two new history-focused shows. “Public television in Arkansas is not going away,” Arkansas TV executive director and CEO Carlton Wing said. 

In spite of the state’s upbeat tone around its new brand and bespoke programming, Arkansas residents broadly support PBS and will likely feel the absence of its long-running educational shows. More than 70% state residents said that PBS is an “excellent value” to their community in recent surveys. “The commission’s decision to drop PBS membership is a blow to Arkansans who will lose free, over-the-air access to quality PBS programming they know and love,” a PBS spokesperson told Fast Company. “It also goes against the will of Arkansas viewers.”

Arkansas was the first state to sever its ties with PBS, but more could follow. Public TV and radio stations in rural parts of the country lack the donor base that their urban counterparts rely on and may be particularly vulnerable to new shortfalls in federal funding.

Public support for public broadcasting

The The President administration has made dismantling public broadcasting a priority in its first year, but that position looks out of step with most of the country. President The President has expressed his personal ire for public broadcasting, referring to PBS and NPR as “two horrible and completely biased platforms” and calling on Congress to defund what he characterized as a scam perpetrated by “the Radical Left.”

Unlike the The President administration, most Americans approve of the public broadcaster, which has long been funded through the now-shuttered Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In the U.S., 58% of households with TV reported watching public programming through PBS in the course of a year. PBS consistently ranks as the most trusted source in America for news and public affairs, besting cable and broadcast networks, newspapers, and streaming services.

In 1969, Fred Rogers, the creator and host of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, famously testified before Congress to defend the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which was facing a major budget cut from the Nixon administration just after its creation. His testimony was initially met with a chilly reception, but within the span of six minutes, Rogers won over the senator questioning him. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting went on to secure its full $20 million in federal funding—a comeback story the nonprofit won’t be telling in 2026.

“What has happened to public media is devastating,” said CPB board chair Ruby Calvert. “Yet, even in this moment, I am convinced that public media will survive, and that a new Congress will address public media’s role in our country because it is critical to our children’s education, our history, culture, and democracy to do so.”

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